


Guns and Gauze

by Oceanggirl



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Blood, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:55:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26522530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oceanggirl/pseuds/Oceanggirl
Summary: A Red Dead Redemption fanfic with my original character, Emmaline Nielson.Emmaline thought she found a new family who really supported her and loved her, but she watches as it slowly falls apart when they had to run from the law and the man she once thought was the leader becomes someone completely different and the person she thought she would spend her life with fade away.
Relationships: Arthur Morgan & Original Female Character(s), Arthur Morgan/Original Female Character(s), Arthur Morgan/Reader
Kudos: 6





	Guns and Gauze

**Author's Note:**

> First story published here! I've written fanfic before but it's been a really long time since I've done a series again. And I created Emmaline for the world and I love her so much. I desperately wanted to write a story between her and Arthur.  
> So here it is! I also published this and other little stories of her and Arthur on my tumblr, oceanggirl!

_May, 1899_

Emmaline’s hands stung as the cold bites at her skin, the blood from Davey and Jenny staining and cracking on her hands, definitely not helping keep her hands warm. Jenny was a lost cause as the Pinkerton’s did a good number of shots on her, Emma and Abigail tried to save her but there was nothing either could do, they had to stop to bury the poor girl. So they both moved on to poor Davey who looked worse for wear, he wasn’t moving or shivering anymore like earlier.

“Reverend, tell Dutch we need to stop or I’m gonna lose Davey.” Emmaline spoke for the first time, trying to speak louder than the storm around them. Reverend looked at the woman and nodded, moving to jump off their moving wagon and go up front where Dutch and Hosea would hear them.

 _Don’t be giving up now, Davey._ Emmaline thought as she tried to tighten the blanket around him to keep him warm through this storm and put pressure on his gut again to keep him from bleeding.

“Dutch sent Arthur up ahead to find a place to settle down.” Reverend told Emmaline when he returned, pulling himself up on the wagon and sitting with the crowd. Emmaline just nodded and returned her focus on Davey.

The whole thing was a mess and Emmaline couldn’t help but think back on what caused all of this, that damn ferry robbery Dutch decided to do, it was obviously reckless to do yet despite all the warning Dutch went along with it. Causing the Pinkerton to be on their tail again and now they were running away and hiding in the mountain’s. Emmaline didn’t know what happened as no one had spoken about it and were keeping quiet to themselves, but not like she could hear them either as her complete focus was on Davey.

Emmaline made a promise to Dutch and Hosea when they let her join them she would be there to treat everyone in the gang, she wouldn’t let either of them down, but here she is already losing one and on her way with losing another. She was determined to not lose Davey.

“Arthur found an abandoned mine, we’ll settle there and you can treat Davey better.” Emmaline heard Hosea’s voice and she looked up to the older man for a moment, a look of pity in his face seeing how frantic the girl was on saving a member of their family.

-

Emmaline felt the wagon come to a stop and looked up finally to look out to see they had finally arrived at the abandoned mine town, Davey had gotten cold more and completely stopped moving, his eyes staring up at the ceiling of their wagon. Hosea came around, grabbing a lantern, and going into one of the houses to inspect as they strapped Davey securely so they could move him into one of the houses.

“Bring him in here!” She heard Hosea yell through the storm's wind, snow already clinging to the old man.

Bill and Arthur came around to carry poor Davey around, Abigail helping Emmaline down from the wagon and they made their way into the house, Emmaline coming in first and rubbed her frozen hands together, blood flaking off.

“Set him right here.” Emmaline instructed them and they set him on the table in the middle of the room. Abigail comes up next to her as they check on Davey together, hearing Ms. Grimshaw making orders as everyone piles into the tiny house to make this warmer. Emmaline looked at his eyes and looked him over fully in the dim light of the abandoned house, she looked at Abigail who shook her head solemnly and Emmaline felt a lump form in her throat as she licks her chapped lip.

“Davey’s dead.” Abigail told everyone for Emmaline who took a deep breath and rubbed her hands again, refusing to look at anyone as she fought back frustrated tears.

“There was...nothing more you could have done.” Emmaline heard Reverend say, she didn’t respond. Somebody moved to close Davey’s eyes as some people shuffled closer to the fire Mary-Beth was making for them. Tilly was holding Jack close as he shivered against her

“Listen to me all of you, just for a moment.” Dutch says, catching everyone's attention, Emmaline looking up to him to show she had his attention. At least a little, Davey on her mind and how she broke her promise. “Now, we’ve had… well, a bad couple of days I loved Davey… Jenny… Sean, Mac… They may be okay, we don’t know.” Dutch says, taking a breath before he continued. “But we lost some folks. Now, if I could… throw myself in the ground in their stead, I’d do it… Gladly. But we’re gonna ride out and we’re gonna find some food. Everybody, we’re safe now. There ain’t nobody following us through a storm like this one and by the time they get here, well we’re gonna be… We’re gonna be long gone. We’ve been through worse than this before.” 

Dutch looks over to Pearson, who was glowing on his gloved hands. “Mr. Pearson, Miss Grimshaw… I need you to turn this place into a camp. We may be here for a few days. Now all of you- all of you! Get yourselves warm. Stay strong. Stay with me! We ain’t done yet!” Dutch gestures to Arthur next to him as he moves to leave out the door again. “C’mon Arthur!”

“Alright, we got some work to do.” Miss Grimshaw says to everyone, already in work mode and getting everybody jobs. “Ms. Nielsen, get yourself cleaned up and come help make bed, then get yourself warm.” Miss Grimshaw said in her authoritative tone. Emmaline looked at the woman's hard face and nodded, going to where they had little water and using the freezing water there to wipe off her hands. She looked as a hand took over and Emmaline turned her gaze to see Mary-Beth there as she knelt down next to Emmaline and took over with wiping off her hands.

“It isn’t your fault, you know.” Mary-Beth says in a gentle tone, her gaze on Emmaline’s chapped and bloodied hands. “There was nothing you could do, none of us blame you for it.” She turned her gaze to look at Emmaline's face and she looked away as she took a deep breath.

“Thank you, Mary-Beth.” Emmaline whispered, hard to take in her words. It was hard to believe this was none of her fault. She knew she could’ve saved Davey

_If I only tried harder._ Emmaline thought to herself, she had used up a large majority of her supplies to try and save Davey and little Jenny. But none of it made any difference and they still lost them.

“You’re still the best doctor we have, I know Dutch and Hosea knows you did your best too with Davey and Jenny.” Mary-Beth tells her, finishing on wiping off the rest of the blood. Emmaline looked at her and Mary-Beth raised her hand to wipe off a little blood that was on her cheek and forehead. “C’mon, let’s set up camp.” Mary-Beth left the rag by the cold water and helped Emmaline up to her feet and followed her to do some of Miss Grimshaw’s orders. Emmaline helped to grab blankets and make beds for everyone, making one for her and all the women (including Jack, as he would be staying with his mother) and the men would be staying in a different house. Some of the other women handling Dutch, Hosea, and Arthur’s stuff who would be staying in their own rooms compared to sleeping in a group. Along with all of this Miss Grimshaw sent little Lenny to go keep watch for intruders or Dutch’s return.

Emmaline was starting a fire where all the women would be sleeping, making sure it would survive the night and keep the little house warm for all of them. Her focus was torn away from the fireplace when she heard Lenny’s voice call out. “Hey, somebody’s coming!”

She followed everyone else out to see Dutch coming back. “Hey everybody! Dutch is back.” Lenny said, lowering his gun and letting Dutch, Arthur, and damn Micah come in, a woman seemed to be riding on Dutch’s horse, shivering horribly.

“How’d you get on?” Hosea called out to Dutch.

“Micah found a homestead, but weren’t the first. Colm O’Driscoll and his scum, they beat us to it.” Dutch says, giving his lantern to Hosea. Emmaline walked up and helped the woman down who stumbled and her eyes looked at everyone wildly, her face red and eyes red from what looked like crying. “We found some of them there but there is more about apparently” Dutch says as he dismounts his house, letting someone take the reins to take the horses to where they’ll be staying, get them out of this cold so they can rest. “Scouting a train.”

“That’s the last thing we need right now, Dutch.” Hosea tells him, and wasn’t wrong on that either. Emmaline had to agree on that and would be better if they lay low with the Pinkerton’s on their ass right now.

“Well, it is what it is. But we found some supplies, some blankets, a little bit of food, and this poor soul, Mrs. Adler.” He says, putting his hand on the woman who held the jacket tightly around herself. “Miss Tilly, Miss Karen, Miss Emma, would you warm her up, give her a drink of something.” He says to the woman. All three nod and Emma puts her hand on her upper back, Tilly and Karen taking each of her arms, guiding her into the house. “Mrs. Adler, it’s gonna be okay, you’re safe now.”

“It’s gonna be okay, Mrs. Adler, you’re safe here.” Emmaline said to her as she guides her to one of the beds. Karen went to get her some warm clothes to change into and Tilly went to grab some water.

“They-they came in the night… They-they killed my Jakey.” Mrs. Adler croaks through tears.

“I know, but everything will be okay, I promise.” Emmaline says, grabbing a blanket that was toasting near the fireplace and putting that around her.

_I hope_


End file.
